UK & Ireland Top 25 College Football Rankings: Week 4
By Simon Carroll
If the AP and the College Football Playoff committee can’t get it right, then perhaps we can!
Each week during the season, a panel of media members from various outlets across the UK & Ireland get together to collate their own set of College Football rankings. Week 4 saw some critical contests between CFB heavyweights. Here’s how our Top 25 shakes out:
25-21
25
Maryland
24
Oregon State
23
Ole Miss
22
Fresno State
21
Missouri
Four new teams enter the rankings after Week 4. Fresh off the back of a big scalp taking down ranked Kansas State, Mizzou followed it up with a win in a tricky trip to Memphis. Meanwhile, the panel have noted Maryland’s unblemished resume, with two Power 5 wins to boot.
Ole Miss & Oregon State slip, but stay ranked after losses to tough opponents. And Fresno State remain the Group of Five team to beat after destroying Kent State.
20-16
20
Kansas
19
Louisville
18
LSU
17
Alabama
16
Miami
Welcome to the rankings Kansas and Louisville! Two programs that embarked upon conference play in Week 4, and looked impressive. Both face stern tests in the next couple of weeks; The Jayhawks taking on Texas on Saturday, and Louisville hosting Notre Dame seven days later.
Two SEC teams in this group, both with a loss each – albeit against very good programs who currently reside in the top ten in this poll. LSU & Alabama are far from out of the playoff race – one of them will compete for the SEC title, and if they win that, it could be enough.
Don’t sleep on Miami – the ACC is a sneaky good conference this year, with five schools making the UK&I list. Plenty of conference games remain for the Hurricanes to make a real statement.
15-11
15
Notre Dame
14
Washington State
13
Oklahoma
12
Duke
11
North Carolina
It has to be said that the panel have been fairly inconsistent with how they demote teams with losses, but considering how close the contest was, Notre Dame landing at 15 after defeat to Ohio State seems fair. The Irish are another team with a loss that still has a route to playoff significance if they win out.
Washington State have two very good wins on their resume, beating both Wisconsin and Oregon State. The PAC-12 might have crumbled, but Wazzu are as strong as ever.
The ACC is represented again, and both Duke and UNC are quietly going about their business. We’ll know a lot more about the Blue Devils this week as they host Notre Dame…
10-6
10
Utah
9
Oregon
8
USC
7
Penn State
6
Ohio State
The PAC-12 has four teams in the UK Ireland’s top ten rankings. FOUR. For context, the SEC has just one. There is no bias this side of the pond! Play good football, and you will be given your flowers…
Not much to say about this group, with all five teams regstering impressive wins. Oregon de-railed Deion, Utah beat UCLA without Cam Rising, Penn State shut out Iowa, and USC shot down ASU without any fuss. As for Ohio State, NOBODY had a bigger win in week 4 than the Buckeyes. Ryan Day was (unreasonably) feeling the heat. And despite Notre Dame kind of orchestrating their own downfall, you take a win in South Bend however it comes.
5-1
5
Washington
4
Florida State
3
Texas
2
Michigan
1
Georgia
The committee appears to be taking a balanced approach to Florida State’s resume so far. Undoubtedly impressed by the battering of LSU, squeaking by Boston College and being taken to overtime by Clemson (who we don’t know if they’re good or not yet) takes the shine off a little.
Georgia & Michigan haven’t been truly challenged yet, and benefit from a reluctance to mark them down until someone takes them down. Plenty of time for that yet – and plenty of time for the top five to shake out before the season comes to a close.
Here are the UK & Ireland College Football Media's week 4 rankings!
— Owain Jones (@Owain_Jones_) September 27, 2023
🔹Georgia return to the top #GoDawgs
🔹WSU climb #GoCougs
🔹4 newly ranked teams!
Players Of The Week Awards below⬇️#Top25 #CFB #NCAAF #CollegeFootball pic.twitter.com/BfHBr8ZGDl
Players of the Week
Offense - Cam Ward, QB, Washington State
Defense - Jonah Elliss, EDGE, Utah
